


always be my thunder

by karasunonolibero



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-06-26 21:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19776352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunonolibero/pseuds/karasunonolibero
Summary: “I have an idea.”Asahi squints at him. “Is this an idea I’m going to like or an idea you’re going to talk me into regardless of whether I like it or not?”“You’re going to love it, I promise.” Noya loops his arm through his boyfriend’s, falling in step with him. “It involves free things.”“No stealing, Yuu.”“I’m not talking about stealing! I can’t believe you think I’m a delinquent.” Noya frowns up at him. “I’m talking about fake-proposing.”~or, four times Asahi and Nishinoya fake propose, and one time it's real.





	always be my thunder

**Author's Note:**

> NOW with incredible fanart by [lena](https://moonoodledoodle.tumblr.com/) !!!
> 
> well here i am, dipping my toes into yet another fandom and pairing! i recently watched haikyuu!! (took me long enough) and Immediately fell in love with asanoya. and next thing i knew i was writing fic. so needless to say this is my first fic for this fandom/pairing and i'm super excited to share it!
> 
> (for this fic we're gonna pretend everyone in japan is 100% cool with homosexuality and public displays thereof, cool? cool)
> 
> title is from thunder by boys like girls (i couldn't Not ok)
> 
> (also unbeta'ed r i p so please tell me if any mistakes are super glaring)

Nishinoya gets the idea when they’re on their Tuesday night date.

He doesn’t _mean_ to eavesdrop on the table next to him, but Asahi is in the bathroom and the only thing he can do while he waits for the bill to come back is poke his nose into the neighboring table’s business. 

The man and woman at the table next to them are clearly out for a fancy date night—she’s wearing makeup and a sparkly dress, and he’s got a tie on. He asks the waiter for a dessert menu, which is promptly brought over and handed to the woman.

“See if they have anything you want,” the man tells her, clearly encouraging her to open to the menu.

She does, and—tied to the inside of the menu on a red string is a diamond ring.

“Will you marry me?” he asks, and she immediately bursts into tears and nods. The waiter begins to clap, which leads to all the surrounding tables following suit.

“Congratulations,” the waiter says, beaming at the newly-engaged couple. “Let us help you celebrate this happy occasion. Dessert is on the house tonight.”

And that’s what sets the gears turning in Noya’s head.

But, not wanting anyone to overhear his plan, he waits until they’ve left the restaurant and stepped onto the sidewalk to make his announcement. “I have an idea.”

Asahi squints at him. “Is this an idea I’m going to like or an idea you’re going to talk me into regardless of whether I like it or not?”

“You’re going to love it, I promise.” Nishinoya loops his arm through his boyfriend’s, falling in step with him. “It involves free things.”

Asahi arches a brow. “Free things are nice.”

“Yeah. And you know how we get free things?”

“No stealing, Yuu.”

“I’m not talking about stealing! I can’t believe you think I’m a delinquent.” Noya frowns up at him. “I’m _talking_ about fake-proposing.”

Asahi hums, stroking his chin in thought. “You think it’ll work?”

“I know it will. And here’s how I know.” Nishinoya relays what he overheard happen while Asahi was in the bathroom. “See? it works.”

“Only at restaurants, probably.”

“Hey, we don’t know until we try.” Nishinoya grins, practically vibrating on his feet the more he thinks about his idea. His genius, foolproof, fun idea. “Come on, it’ll be fun to pretend.”

Asahi doesn’t say anything for a long minute, and Noya is about to prod him for a decision when Asahi finally answers him. “Where would we get a ring?”

~

They argue a bit about where the first location should be, until they decide to just do it at their next four dates. That’s Asahi’s idea—he was always more sensible anyway. Noya’s suggestion was to have the proposal be fairly spontaneous in terms of who should propose to who—“So the surprise is real,” he said, and Asahi agreed. And finally, they don’t have to look far for a ring. Nishinoya gets not one, but two suitably fake rings in a ¥1000 machine.

“It’s like the universe knew about us fake proposing,” he’d said as he handed one to Asahi.

Asahi held the ring up to the light. “This looks like the kind of cheap metal that’ll give us a rash once we put it on.”

The first target location is the aquarium.

They hold hands as they wander the exhibits for an hour or so, and Noya is having so much fun he almost forgets their plan. Asahi stands in front of the octopus tank for so long that Noya has to tug him to the side so the little kids can have a look, and later, Noya plants himself next to the jellyfish to while he tries to take the perfect picture for Instagram.

But once they reach the top floor and see the shark tank, Nishinoya knows that’s the place. He’s got to time this just right. He waits until there’s a sufficient crowd around the shark tank and at least one aquarium staff member in view before taking a deep breath and tapping Asahi’s hand to get his attention.

“Asahi…” Noya pulls out the ring and drops to one knee. “You _caught_ my eye the first day I met you at volleyball club and I’ve been _hooked_ ever since.”

Asahi breaks out into a smile and claps a hand over his mouth. Most people would assume it’s due to surprise and emotion, but Nishinoya knows him well enough to realize he’s just trying not to burst out laughing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Noya can see about a dozen people watching, plus the staff member. He raises his voice for the next part so everyone who isn’t appreciating this display of cuteness can hurry up and pay attention. “There are lots of fish in the sea but you’re the only one in mine, and my love for you is as deep as the ocean. I’ve _reel_ -y wanted to ask you this for a while, so…”

He takes a deep breath and holds up the ring. The crappy, cheap metal, finger-irritating, ¥1000 ring. “Will you marry me?”

Asahi does a convincingly emotional sniffle and nods, grasping Noya’s hands in his. “Yes, yes of course I’ll marry you!”

The onlookers begin to clap as Nishinoya stands up and drags Asahi down for a sweet kiss.

When they separate, the staff member is standing next to him, a smile on her face. “Congratulations, you two. As a thank you for choosing our aquarium for your special moment, we’d like to help you celebrate with a gift,” the staff member says. “Follow me to the gift shop.”

 _Free shit!_ Noya grins at Asahi, as if to say, _See? My plan is working._

Fifteen minutes later, they leave the aquarium in matching bright green squid hats.

~

The second attempt takes just a bit more planning. Nishinoya keeps calling it Asahi’s brilliant idea, even though Asahi would never take the credit himself. 

The restaurant is on the twelfth floor of a high-rise in the city center. They get a spot by the window, like Asahi had called ahead and asked for, and Noya pretends to be shocked at the romantically set table, complete with a candle for ambiance and a single red rose in a crystal vase. He doesn’t have to try hard to blush as Asahi kisses his cheek and pulls his chair out for him.

Only for it all to be ruined by none other than Oikawa Tooru. And, to a lesser degree, Iwaizumi Hajime. But mostly Oikawa. It seems their old rivalry didn’t end with graduation after all.

The couple are seated right next to their table, much to everyone’s disappointment. Asahi’s too nice to say anything, so he just opens the menu and hides behind it, leaving Noya to try to glare at both Oikawa and Iwaizumi at once.

Oikawa makes the first move, smiling that easy, condescending old grin that used to infuriate Noya when he saw it on the court. “It’s a beautiful night for a date, isn’t it?” Oikawa says with a little wave. “I’m not sure why you’re here, though.”

It’s that tone of voice that never fails to make his blood boil. Easy, breezy, as though they were old friends. “It’s a beautiful night,” Nishinoya echoes back as he picks up his own menu, determined not to let those two spoil a nice evening. Or their plan.

“You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?” Iwaizumi grumbles.

“Could you stop calling me a piece of shit for one minute!” Oikawa complains.

“What, you want me to lie?”

“But it’s date night, Iwa-chan! You’re always so mean to me, even on date night.”

Nishinoya peeks over just to get a glance at Oikawa’s pout before hiding a laugh behind his hand. “One of these days, they’re gonna fight for real,” he mutters to Asahi.

Asahi tilts his head. “You think? I feel like it’s a weird act. Like, they don’t ever actually mean any of the mean things they say to each other.”

“You sure? I kind of imagine, like…” Noya leans back in his chair. “Iwa is actually some kind of yakuza boss or blackmail artist and he’s got some real shit on Oikawa.”

“If anyone has shit on Oikawa, it’d be Kageyama, don’t you think?”

“Nah, these two have been friends since they were little. And I’m not ready to let go of the yakuza boss theory just yet.” Noya’s eyes widen suddenly. “Wait, what are they doing?”

Oikawa is out of his seat, digging in his coat pocket for something. “Hold on, hold on, give me a second, alright?”

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. “You’re being loud, Tooru. People are staring.”

“Let them stare!” Oikawa declares dramatically. “I’m not afraid.”

“You screamed when the towel fell off the hanger this morning.”

“Just let me do this, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa yanks his hand out of his jacket and circles the table to get on one knee in front of Iwaizumi.

Asahi gapes. “Oh my god, they’re doing it.”

“Do you think it’s real?” Noya whispers.

“I don’t know! Maybe?”

Iwaizumi also seems to think it’s a joke, judging from the unimpressed look he gives Oikawa. “Tooru, what are you doing on the floor?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Oikawa pops the box open, and Noya’s jaw drops when he gets a look at the ring inside.

“Damn, it’s not a joke.” No one would spend actual money on a joke. From the look of the ring, it’s a shiny white gold or platinum, and the box is lined with crushed velvet. Definitely not a joke.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi begins, but Oikawa interrupts him.

“Iwa-chan, I want you to marry me!” he all but shouts as the fountain begins to light up twelve floors below them, washing the dining room in pinks and blues.

The entire restaurant goes quiet, everyone’s attention on the couple at the neighboring table.For a long minute, nobody says anything. All Noya can hear is Oikawa’s breathing, which is starting to quicken the longer the silence drags on.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Iwaizumi actually smiles. Noya can’t remember ever seeing Iwaizumi smile. Like, ever. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Tooru.”

Oikawa lets out a relieved sigh and slips the ring on Iwaizumi’s finger while the whole restaurant bursts into applause.

Nishinoya claps twice before motioning for Asahi to lean closer. “Damn. it’d be kind of weird if we did ours now, wouldn’t it?”

Asahi frowns. “Probably, yeah.”

Which leaves Noya to glower at Oikawa and Iwaizumi as they get their free dessert.

~

After the disaster that was the second attempt, they decide to go more casual for the third try. It’s riskier, for sure, but Noya is confident that _something_ has to come out of these attempts. Asahi says the squid hats count but Noya is after free dessert, and once he’s got his mind set on something, he’s unchangeable. He’s both the unstoppable force _and_ the immovable object.

So they try a karaoke bar.

This one’s a double date with some old high school friends, Daichi and Suga, who are none the wiser to Noya’s carefully crafted plan. Suga greets them with a smile and a wave, telling them they’ve already snagged a table close to the stage.

They sit down, Noya buys a round of beers, and they settle in to watch people start making fools of themselves—er, sing.

The place is small and crowded, with singers having to wade through tables and chairs to get to the stage, and the whole place reeks of beer, but Nishinoya is having the time of his life. Next to him, Asahi is slumped down in his seat, watching through his fingers as the singer currently on stage murders “My Heart Will Go On.”

After six drinks and Noya’s pestering, Daichi and Suga get up to do a terribly mediocre version of “A Whole New World.” Noya makes sure to hoot and cheer obnoxiously while Daichi glowers at him from behind the mic.

“Hey, are you gonna sing something?” he asks Asahi, who goes white as a sheet and shakes his head. “Aw, come on!”

“You know I can’t sing!” Asahi protests.

“So? Neither can Daichi!”

Asahi purses his lips and shakes his head again. “Nope. No way.”

“Well, since you’re gonna be a coward about it, I guess it’s up to me!” Nishinoya puts his name down on the list, along with the song he’s chosen, and then all there is to do is wait till they call his name. For now, he can just order some more beer and hope he’s drunk enough to tackle One OK Rock all by himself.

Fortunately, he’s happily tipsy, in the middle of sprawling out across everyone’s laps, when he’s called up. Daichi all but pushes him toward the stage. Noya scrambles up to the stage, grinning as he grabs the mic and the music starts.

“This song is dedicated to my Asahi-san,” he declares, and a few people whistle for him.

He’s gone for [Wasted Nights](https://youtu.be/9tvU1emWJgY), which he realizes a few seconds in, is way out of his vocal range. Given, his vocal range is about three notes anyway, but hey, maybe he’ll make people laugh.

He stumbles through the song, voice cracking every time he goes for the high notes, but everyone in the bar is too drunk and too happy to do anything but cheer him on, even as his quality declines toward the end of the song. But the point isn’t his vocals, it’s the lyrics.

As the outro begins, he motions for Asahi to come closer. Red-faced, Asahi does, meeting him at the edge of the stage, and for a second Nishinoya just takes a second to look at him. His vision might be starting to get a little fuzzy, but Asahi is in sharp detail, the pink and blue neon lights casting his face in brights and shadows.

“Asahi, will you marry me?” he blurts out, ungracefully fumbling in his pocket to whip the ring out.

Asahi blinks for a second, like he’s truly surprised, before breaking into a wide smile and shouting “Yes!” as the bar crowd starts hollering in drunken support.

“What the hell?” Daichi yells at them once they get back to their table. “I can’t believe you two got engaged before us?”

“So…” Nishinoya starts to explain, before a man they don’t know approaches their table, bearing two pints of beer.

“Drinks on us! Congratulations, guys,” he says, setting the beers down on the table.

“Oh!” Nishinoya grins, taking one and raising it in a toast. “Thanks!”

“Cheers, man!” Suga waves as the man walks away. “So are you guys going to explain or what?”

“So.” Noya lowers his voice so they won’t be overheard. “We’re faking proposals in different places to see if we can get free stuff.”

For a second, Daichi just blinks, and Noya has the brief thought that he’s about to get one of Daichi’s famous lectures.

“Well, did it work?” Suga wants to know.

Asahi shrugs. “We got free squid hats at the aquarium.”

“And we would have gotten dessert at a fancy restaurant too, but Oikawa and Iwaizumi were at the table next to us and they proposed first,” Nishinoya grumbles.

“Wait.” Daichi almost drops his beer. “ _Oikawa and Iwaizumi_ are engaged?”

“Oh, yeah, I feel like we should have mentioned that earlier,” Asahi mumbles.

Suga elbows Daichi in the ribs. “Next thing we know, Hinata and Kageyama are going to beat us, too.”

“Is that a hint?” Daichi asks with a hint of a smirk.

“Sure, if you want it to be.” Suga just beams at him.

“Aw, shit, not you guys, too.” Nishinoya pretends to gag as Daichi and Suga kiss.

“We just have to show them up, that’s all.” Asahi tugs on Noya’s shirt, pulling him close for their lips to meet. Daichi and Suga, however, will not be one-upped; Suga excuses himself, saying he’s going to the bathroom, and Daichi does the same not two minutes later.

“Do they think they’re subtle? They’re not subtle,” Nishinoya says. “Want to do them one better and head home?”

“And stick them with the bill?”

“Hey, it’ll count toward free things!”

~

Nishinoya has to admit he’s been thoroughly disappointed with the whole experiment. Pretending to propose is kind of fun, but there’s been a distinct lack of free _dessert_ , specifically. But he’s never one to give up, so for their last try, he says it’s go big or go home.

Asahi furrows his brow. “Didn’t you say we had to stick to casual last time?”

“Yeah, but I think we learned casual’s way less likely to get us free stuff.”

Asahi sighs. “So what’s the new plan, then?”

They go all the way to Tokyo for this one, booking a room in a fancy hotel and making someplans to see old friends over the weekend so it’s not a _complete_ waste of money. Noya makes the call himself, telling the clerk he’s planning on proposing, and is there anything the hotel could do to help?

The lobby of the hotel, Nishinoya decides as he walks in with his suitcase dragging behind him, is way more fancy than either of them deserve. It’s clean and modern, brightly-lit and dripping luxury in everything from the plush couches in the lobby to the gilded check-in desk. But as they wait in line to check in…

“Noya-chan! Asahi-chan!” Oikawa gives them a wave and a grin as he passes by. “So funny to run into you again!”

“What are you guys doing here?” Noya can’t help but ask.

“Celebrating our engagement.” Oikawa loops his arm through Iwaizumi’s arm and pastes himself to his side. “We have a balcony suite with strawberries and champagne waiting for us, so we should go!” And go they do, trotting off to the elevators arm-in-arm. Noya can still hear Oikawa giggling.

Nishinoya fixes Asahi with a bored expression. “One of these days, I’m going to throw up and it’s going to be because of those two.”

When they finally get to the check-in desk, Noya tells Asahi he’ll take care of it and sends him over to the sundry shop before leaning over the desk and whispering to the lady. “Hi, I’ve got a room for Nishinoya. I was the one who called ahead about the proposal a few days ago?”

“Yes, I remember,” she tells him with a smile as she hands him the keycard. “You’ll find a surprise in your room.”

He thanks her and runs back to Asahi, waving the room key in the air. “Let’s go!”

Their room is on the fourteenth floor, with a balcony that gives them sweeping views of the Tokyo cityscape. They both gasp as they walk inside, Nishinoya immediately dropping his bag and dashing over to the sliding door.

The night air is warm, a little humid, as he leans over the railing to see a glance at the city spread out beneath them. The streets are bustling, busy with commuters heading home from work and tourists wandering the sidewalks. Asahi’s hand rests on his back.

“Careful.”

“I know, I know.” Nishinoya leans into Asahi’s .side, and for a minute, they just stand there, curled into each other, enjoying the view.

“Hey, Noya-chan,” Asahi says after a few minutes. “What are the strawberries and champagne for?”

“Oh!” Nishinoya blushes, realizing he’d walked right past them. “Uh, I told them I was going to propose when I made the reservation. Guess that’s our free stuff.”

Asahi kisses the top of his head. “There’s our free stuff, you genius.”

~

TWO MONTHS LATER

“Asahi, get up! Come on! We’ll miss the match!” Nishinoya whines, already fully dressed as he leaps onto the Asahi-shaped lump under the blankets. Asahi groans and pulls the comforter up over his head, which of course does nothing to dissuade the ever-persistent Noya.

“Come _on_! It’s their last Spring High qualifiers! We promised we’d be there for them!” Noya pokes at where he’s pretty sure Asahi’s head is and gets a half-hearted mumble in response. Laughing and shaking his head, he springs off the bed and heads into the bathroom to start spiking up his hair. “It’s fine, I’ll just tell them you stayed home because you’re still jealous of Hinata taking your spot as the ace of Karasuno,” he sing-songs on his way in.

Next thing he knows, Asahi’s yanking him back toward their room by the arm. “I am _not_ jealous of Hinata and you know it.”

“I do.” Nishinoya grins up at him. “But it got you out of bed, didn’t it?”

Asahi huffs, and Noya knows he’s won.

An hour later, they join the crowd in the Sendai City Gymnasium just in time for the match to start. Karasuno’s cheering section is as loud as ever, the seats filled with parents and siblings and teachers and friends all cheering at the top of their lungs. The elated look on Asahi’s face is a reminder that he’s still not used to seeing a cheering section like this.

Nishinoya leans over the edge and surveys the scene below. The cameras are set up in the corners of the gymnasium and crewmembers are running around everywhere, but the teams are as focused as ever. It’s like the cameras aren’t even there. There’s Yamaguchi, still looking as nervous as he always did right before a match, and Tsukishima, with the sports glasses that Noya still has to resist the urge to chuckle at. He spots Hinata and Kageyama standing slightly away from the group, heads close together.

“I’m still kind of amazed Aoba Johsai beat Shiratorizawa to get to the finals,” Asashi notes. He’d taken a picture of the bracket on the way in, and now he’s squinting at his phone to examine it. “It feels like we always end up playing Seijoh.”

“It’s a classic now. We just need a cool name for it. Like how us and Nekoma have the dumpster showdown.” Noya can spot Oikawa and Iwaizumi in the Seijoh cheering section. Oikawa has the guts to smile and wave. Noya grits his teeth and pretends he didn’t see.

“Thank you for the game!” the players shout down below, and the match begins.

Karasuno takes the first two points easily, one on a service ace and the second with a block. They’re probably saving the big guns for later in the match, or if Seijoh start really putting on the pressure.

Asahi glances at him. “You’re doing it again.”

Noya looks up from the court, meeting Asahi’s eyes. “What?”

“You watch games the way only a player could,” Asahi tells him.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Asahi grins. “I can see the gears turning in your head. You watch the game like you’re about to be put in any second and you have to be ready.”

Noya flushes. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not at all. It’s just…very you.”

The score is even now at 5, and it’s Seijoh’s serve. Aoba Johsai is still a powerhouse school—obviously, since they’ve made it to the finals—but they’ll never have another Oikawa, Noya thinks as he watches the serve go up. As much as he hates the guy, he knows that Oikawa’s power and versatility, not to mention his uncanny ability to bring the best out in each spiker, isn’t something you see every day.

Speaking of Oikawa, Noya glances over to his former rival. He can hear Iwa call Oikawa a piece of shit from across the gymnasium, above the sound of both cheering sections. Some things never do change.

Seijoh makes a comeback and narrowly takes the first set by two points. Asahi groans, shifting restlessly in his seat. “The winner of the first set always has the upper hand,” he comments. “Psychologically, the pressure of already being a set behind and knowing you can’t screw up…that’s tough.”

Noya nods in agreement. He remembers that feeling well. “Let’s get this done in four.”

They don’t get it done in four. The Karasuno–Seijoh rivalry is a stubborn one, and one that never lets either team get away with an easy win. The atmosphere in the gymnasium is tense by the time the fifth set begins, everyone knowing this is do or die.

Next to him, Asahi is slumped down in his seat, hands covering his mouth. Noya thinks he might actually be biting his nails from the stress.

He’s no better, leg bouncing uncontrollably as he watches the action down on the court. The new first-years are pretty good, but it’s clear the players, on both sides, are starting to reach the end of their stamina. Well—except Hinata and Kageyama. Those two never seem to tire.

Aoba Johsai reaches match point first, and the pressure on Noya’s chest doubles as he watches the serve go up. Knowing these teams, they’ll reach a deuce and then heaven only knows what would happen then.

They do. Hinata takes a point with a feint, and then they’re tied at 14.

“Oh, no,” Asahi moans. “I don’t think I can watch.”

The score inches higher, point by point, until both teams are tied at 21 and it’s Karasuno’s serve. Everyone’s restless and antsy now, Noya included. The cheering sections grow louder, till Kageyama lobs the ball over the net.

“A service ace!” Nishinoya cries as he watches Seijoh flub the receive. Now it’s 22–21, and they’re one point away from going to nationals for the third year in a row. He joins in with the cheering section, all of them screaming “One more point!”

And still, over the din of the crowd, Noya can still hear the sounds of the game—the shouts of “Nice receive!” and “Bring it here!”, the squeak of shoes on the hardwood floor, the satisfying _pow_ of a spiker’s hand connecting with the ball.

Tsukishima blocks Aoba Johsai’s spike, but the libero digs it up and they attack again. And again, and again. Tsukishima is a blocking machine, but he can’t quite make the kill. He should just try for a one touch so Karasuno can mount an attack, Noya thinks.

Hinata is the one who finally gets the one touch, immediately darting to the other side of the court while the libero sends it to Kageyama.

“A synchronized attack at a time like this?” the student standing behind them gasps.

They’re not Karasuno if they aren’t relentlessly, recklessly attacking—it’s exactly what they need to do at a time like this. The set is so fast even Noya has trouble keeping up with it after all this time, and Seijoh doesn’t stand a chance. Hinata spikes the ball straight down, the ball bouncing off the floor so hard it almost flies into the stands.

The second before the whistle blows, Noya knows, is the longest second on earth. The entire gym goes silent, waiting for the signal—and once the referee blows the whistle, Karasuno’s side erupts into excited shouts. “Fuck yes!” Nishinoya yells, letting Asahi pull him in for a celebratory kiss. Down on the court, the team has collapsed into a victory pile. Hinata, Kageyama, and Yamaguchi are in tears, and the first-years mostly just look shocked.

For a little bit, Noya lets himself get caught up in the excitement, screaming with the crowd and shouting the players’ names and letting Asahi pick him up and put him on his shoulders.

Then, finally, the Karasuno team walks over to their section, all of them bowing. “Thank you for coming to support us!” they say in unison, and everyone cheers.

Noya notices Hinata shooting a wink in their direction, and he gives him a thumbs-up in return.

Asahi puts him down then, and taps him on the shoulder. “Hey, Noya?”

“Yeah?” He turns to his boyfriend and gasps.

Asahi is on one knee, a small velvet box in his hand. “Yuu—”

“Wait, we didn’t say we were gonna do it here!”

“Yuu, stop talking for just a minute, okay?” Asahi pops the lid of the box open to reveal not the ¥1000 machine ring, but a [real ring](https://images.shaneco.com/is/image/ShaneCo/ring/570/Titanium-Ring-9mm_41060992_M.jpg&). An actual ring you’d buy from a jewelry store. “This is real.”

“This is…” For a second, Noya thinks he’s so in shock that all the sounds of the gym faded away, but then he realizes the entire Karasuno block has gone quiet. They’re all staring at the two of them. “You mean it?”

“Of course I do! This week has been so much fun, but every time we fake proposed, I realized how much I wanted us to be saying yes to each other for real. I’ve been in love with you since you first joined the volleyball club. I was sixteen then, and four years later, I’m still in awe of you every time I look at you. You bring so much light and happiness to my life and you always pick me up when I’m down. I—” Asahi pauses and takes a breath. “I just want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Nishinoya likes to think he’s been doing a decent job of not crying, but the moment he hears Asahi say those words, and not as part of an act, the tears start falling. “Yes! Yes, Asahi, I love you!”

The Karasuno side erupts in cheers once again as Asahi kisses him and thumbs away his tears. He can’t stop staring at the ring—silver, with a black stripe running through the middle—as it’s slipped on his finger.

The rest of the afternoon is a blur. They meet the Karasuno team in the lobby of the gymnasium to congratulate and be congratulated. Everyone wants to see the ring, which Nishinoya proudly shows off. Hinata tackles him in a hug, knocking him to the ground as they both laugh.

Then finally, he’s back in the car with Asahi, his ears ringing in the sudden silence. “You planned that with Hinata, didn’t you?” he says as he starts the car.

“Maybe,” Asahi chuckles. “I thought it would be the perfect time. We were already in a good mood from winning, we have good memories there—it just felt right.”

Noya pauses. Then: “Wait, what were you going to do if we _lost_?”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! if you feel so inclined, please let me know what you thought in the comments or on tumblr! 
> 
> again, that fantastic artwork of the final proposal was made by [lena](https://moonoodledoodle.tumblr.com/) who is !!! amazing!!!! 
> 
> [my main blog](http://humhalleloujah.tumblr.com) // [haikyuu!! blog](http://karasunonolibero.tumblr.com)


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